Tuesday, 27 March 2012

Scrap copper is everywhere—You just have to look a Little Deeper

Copper since its discovery has come a long way and has found multiple uses in various industries around the globe. Copper has a long list of characteristics which is why it has found so many uses; from excellent electrical conductivity to high thermal conductivity in a variety of applications. We often come in contact with copper at various places; but since the applications of copper are usually hidden within the appliances, decor and machines that we use, it hard to find out where they actually are and how important every bit is to us in our daily lives. When such products that we use on a daily basis become old and unusable it is wise to get them exposed and then sell them off saving the environment (reducing copper mining) and making a little profit in the bargain.

Copper products existed in many forms, in the olden days. Most utensils were made from copper because it simply allowed heat to spread evenly over the bottoms of cooking utensils, making them energy efficient; allowing the food to heat up properly. As mentioned above, copper is always hidden from plain sight in most of today’s applications; given below are some of the objects you can check for copper which can be sold off as copper scrap to any scrap metal recycler in Dubai.

Decor and Fittings: Such decors and fittings unless maintained, may have lost their original copper colour and turned green due to corrosion. They may have also been painted over just to make them look presentable. Old houses or mansions with a lot of antique fittings usually have lots of copper fittings especially in the pipes and plumbing.

Old Appliances: Copper and energy efficiency always go hand in hand which means that anything to do with heating or cooling via electricity (mainly heating) would usually contain copper parts inside. Appliances such as fans, old washing machines, boilers, dryers etc. would always have copper windings which can easily be stripped off with common tools. Caution must be taken when it comes to comes to copper radiators and refrigeration equipment since these usually contain gases (or liquids) that can be harmful and must be delivered to the experts to be dealt with.

Household Wiring: Renovating? Well you have probably got gold in the renovation trash waiting to be discovered. A home renovation means that old wiring—which normally ended up with the renovation trash in a landfill—would often be replaced by a new set of improved, energy efficient, copper electrical wiring. This is why it is wise to strip the insulation off the wire and sell the copper separately; or at least separate it from the remaining wood, dry walls and old plaster—that would go together to the landfill leading to copper wastage.

Automobile Parts: Bought some new spares for your car or bike? Have a closer look into how they work and you will discover that a lot of parts use copper extensively. These parts can be sold-off to a scrap metal trader, who would deliver it to a copper recycling facility in Dubai.